Adjustable double closure for containers



Jan. 11, 193s. 1w, MCNElL 2,104,806

ADJUSTABLE DOUBLE CLOSURE FOR CONTAINERS Filed Dec. 3l, 1955 II'IIII'IIIIIII JN VEN TOR Patented Jan. 11, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE James William McNeil, '1ain'pa, F1a. Appiieeiie December s1, 1935, seiiei Ne. &997 8 Claims. (Cl. 22162) 'I'hisinvention relates tocontainers for any solid substances capable of being poured through an opening,

It is a common commercial practice at. present 5 to use paper cartons, ca nsand boxesz made of sheet metal, andpackages made partly of paper and partly of metal orotherinaterialses containers for salt, sugar, soda, bakingpowdenilour,

1 ilfakel and granular' ee'rrealsy spices, raisins, and 10 Bilder other foodstuffs andI other materials of v vhcha portion only is used at one tirne by Vthe 1 12f1 .ii1 a1y.v .60e-inmer- The great maJQrity 0f Such containers are int ende d to; be. open ed only by cutting, tearing, or punching in a.. top orside of the Package; end .therhave no means Provided for eiectinga satisfactory closure to preserve theDOrtiOn notremovedf;

It is a. primary object or the present invention w P rr'd simpleieeknensifee and efficient sliding v .lsi'siire .fp r- =-1 Iereiqrmedpenngm accu.: tainer, which will bear upon both aninner and an outer surface of the container around, the Opening Whreb 'Dresmf mwrlllm l1? Qtde or. iroirrjhefiidewill act to force the closure ing description of cert n.prferred'eihodiients ofthe invention select as illustrative oi. the 50 principles involved, itl being e4 'dentthat theinvennen' is npijiimiiec' te the, ,eci details but capable of many other forms of cosiriiiioii.

dunne shipment he vinile' n] iiiedeeierfs' s'h'elres,

too thick to bend down with the weight of a second package set upon the top. A slot I8 formed in the top I4 permits the sliding movement of the rivets I2 and this slot is covered at all times by the members lil and II throughout the range of their sliding movement which will be limited by the walls of the depression I5. The pouring opening I'I may have rounded corners as indicated in Fig. 6 instead of being out at a sharp angle as is show-n for the opening 3.

In Figs. 9, 10, 11, and 12, the rectangular carton I8 has a circular pouring opening I9 near one end of the top 29, and closure members 2I and 22 are slidable longitudinally of the top to open and close the opening I 9. These members 2| and 22 are made of a resilient material such as Celluloid, thin metal, or stiff paper, stamped or pressed upward from a flat margin 23 or 24, with centers pressed inward to lie in contact with each other when assembled, a

staple 25 being used to hold them together with their margins in close contact with the opposite faces of the top 29. A slot '2S acts'as a guide to permit longitudinal movement While preventing sidewise or angular movement of the members 2I and 22 enoughv to uncover the opening I9. With this arrangement, the elasticity of the material of the closure members is utilized to maintain close contact with the top, and nov supplemental spring is needed. While the margins 23 and 24 are preferably flat as giving a greater area of contact, it will b e evi dent that they may be curved, or ,that they may consistmerely of the natural thickness of the edges ofthe material of which the members are made.

In Fig. 13, the closure members 21 and 28 are shown as merely at strips held togetheriby a Wire fastener 29, thefree vends of which may extend longitudinally 'of the' inner face of the inner strip'to act as' a simple form of spring to aid the natural elasticity of the v"strip 28.

' Fig. 14 isaplan view of a spring 30 which may be used .with such a sheet metal clamp as'the member 9 of Fig; v1."1 'Ihe--riotclies3l act to pre-` vent the springfrom 'slipping out from under the clamp'. In this form, asimplef1lat spring strip requiring' no die to give it specialjshape may be used as a" resilient element 'instead of the rounded spring member"l"of Figi 1 or the wire spring I3 of Fig. 5.1

The shape of the two closure members may be the same, so that the same blanks may be used for inner and outer members, 'or'they may be different, as where the I'outer member is printed or is made of a more"expensive'material than that of the inner member; as is indicated in Figs. 1 and 2, and in Figs. 9, 10, and 11.

The shape of the closure .members may' also idepend upon the shape of the'container, as in Fig. 1, where the outer closure member is made with the front edges parallel `with -the sides'of the container to cover the opening 3 without projecting beyond the margins of the -top; Similarly, the inner member may be of a". diierent shape from the outer member, therebeing no need to of the action 'of the springsbearing upon them,

the double sliding closures may be heid iirmly by friction at any desired point in their path oi travel, enabling the user to adjust the size of the opening by leaving any portion covered to limit the size and hence the rapidity of now to control the quantity dispensed in a given time. Adjusting the members 5 and 6 of Fig. 1 over a V-shaped opening such as shown at 3 until it is almost closed, iine table salt, for example, may be sifted out in a fine stream, as contrasted with the ordinary pouring spouts which permit a relatively large mass to escape, which may be far in excess of what is needed or desired, often resulting in Waste..

Where a larger opening is needed, as for use with flaked cereals, a wire spring such as I3 in Fig. 5 made of a size to encircle the entire opening will furnish pressure at the exact place where it is most needed, holding the margins of the closure member Il] in tight contact with the surface of the carton. The member I9 may thus be of relatively light material since the 'resilient metallic wire will furnish all the force necessary to hold the edges in engagement with the carton top.

It will be evident that many changes in details of construction and arrangement of parts may be made without departure from the principles of the invention. The spring I3, shown as on the outside, could obviously be placed on the inside as are the spring ends of the wire 29 in Fig. 13. Similarly, such springs as 1, I3, and 30 may be used on both inside and outside, as are the two elastic members 2l and 22. The matter of the foregoing description is thus to be understood as merely illustrative and not in'a limiting sense, since it will be clear to those familiar with the art that the same invention can be carried into effect by many other means than those shown and described, with many changes in form, size, proportions, and mode of construc-A opening in a wall thereof, two closure members one upon theinsideand the other upon the out'- side of said 'container each adapted to cover said opening, and means connecting said closure members for simultaneous sliding movement in engagement with opposite sides of said wall from a position in whichthe said Opening is completely covered'on both surfaces to a position in which the said opening is at least partly uncovered.

3. .In combination with a` container having va pouring opening and aguidel slot formed in a wall thereof, two olosure'members eachI adapted to cover saidopening and said slot, and resilient means connecting said closure members for slt multan'eous'sliding movement on opposite sur# faces of said wall, said means connecting-said closure members'cooperating with said slot to lim-A it'the movement `of said members.

4. In combination with a container having a pouring opening formed in a wall thereof, two

closure members each adapted to cover said opening, means for connecting said closure members on opposite sides of said wall for simultaneous sliding movement, and a spring mountedv to bear upon the surface of at least one of 'said closure members to hold its margin in frictional contact with the surface of said wall.

5. In combination with a container having ak pouring opening formed ina wall thereof, twoV closure members each adapted to cover said opening, means connecting said members for simultaneous sliding movement over and off said opening, and a resilient element engaging the margin of at least one of said members to hold it in close contact with the surface of said wall when in the of closure members each adapted to cover the opening, meansconnecting said members for sliding movement on opposite faces of said Wall, and

a spring member encircling the pouring hole when Vtheclosure members arein closed positionto press f the margins on one of said members into close contact with the face of the container wall.

'7. In combination with a container having a pouring opening and a slot formed in a wall thereof, a pair of closure members each adapted to cover the said opening and the said slot, said membersy being formed with central projecting ridges 'adapted to meet each other within said slot, and securing means connecting said members through said ridges whereby the said ridges cooperate with the said slot to limit the movement of the closure members.

8. In combination with a container having a pouring opening formed in a wall thereof, a pair of closure members each adapted to cover the said opening, and a Wire fastening member passing through the central portion of both members and having its ends bent in opposite directions to bear upon the surface of one of said members to hold both of said members under tension on said wall.

JAMES WILLIAM MCNEIL. 

